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The Pretty Prairie Bulldogs expected a true test from Fairfield on Friday evening, and they got that for a little more than one quarter.
But after a couple of key defensive plays by Bulldog Jacob Welker in the second quarter, it was all Pretty Prairie from there on out, as the Bulldogs picked up a 60-30 win.
After multiple lead changes in the first quarter and early stages of the second, Bulldog quarterback Alex Mains connected with Stetson Broce for a touchdown and again on a conversion to put the Bulldogs back up 20-14, Fairfield appeared poised to respond with a trip to the end zone, when Welker pulled down Falcon Wayne Schoenecker at the five-yard line.
“Jacob Welker made maybe the play of the game, they had that breakaway and with just pure hustle made that tackle, then we stopped them at the five. They gained a lot of confidence there,” said Bulldog head coach C.T. Young.
The Bulldogs then allowed the Falcons to advance only one yard throughout the next three downs, forcing a punt.
Pretty Prairie continued to roll as Main completed a pass to Trey Tallant for another TD, followed by a conversion as Mains connected with Broce.
Welker again became the hero with only seconds remaining in the half, intercepting a Ryan Ewy pass intended to Brennyn Pankratz, to send the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 28-14 halftime lead.
Mark Schnittker, who led the Bulldogs’ rushing charge in their 40-12 win over Cunningham one week ago, went on a 45-yard touchdown run and again reached the end zone for a PAT to pull further forward at 36-14, but Ewy came back for a one-yard touchdown of his own, followed by a Pankratz conversion to bring it back to a 14-point game.
Mains came back with a 53-yard TD run, then completed a pass to Welker for two more points, to give the Bulldogs a 42-22 advantage.
A déjà vu moment came later in the quarter as Welker got another interception, this time at the nine-yard line on a Ewy pass intended for Pankratz.
Broce picked up another TD, followed by a Welker PAT to edge ahead 52-22, then Mains got into the end zone again on a 29-yard run, that was capped off by a Alex Mains to Michael Mains conversion to hit 60 points.
The Falcons had the final TD of the night as Ewy rushed into the end zone, and picked up two more points in the PAT.
A low point of the game was when Schnittker had to be assisted to the sidelines with an injury. Having had two players (Tyler Markus and Justin Haflich) hurt against Cunningham last week, dealing with injuries is something Young and his team have already had to experience. But after a decisive win over Fairfield, Young isn’t complaining.
“Considering when had two starters not playing and we had to readjust our lineup, I was really proud of them. They played hard,” said Young.
After being critical of his team after last week’s offensive effort, Young was happy with the way the quarterback Alex Mains and the other players turned things around.
“We had much better offensive performance, we had pretty good team to put up 60 points,” said Young. “(Mains) showed up this week. Last week he didn’t play well, and he’d be the first to tell you that. He’s played well against Fairfield in the past, and had more confidence.”
Now 2-0, the Bulldogs will have its first non-league game against Baileyville next week at Solomon. Young isn’t reading too much into what kind of competition they will face.
“I’m just going to enjoy the win over Fairfield for now,” he said.
The 1-1 Falcons will play Kinsley next week.